1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of computer devices and relates to a method and apparatus for dynamically configuring a computer device using a device code.
Portions of the disclosure of this patent document may contain material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. Sun Microsystems, Java and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All SPARC trademarks are used under license and are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International in the United States and other countries. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc.
2. Background Art
One goal of many of today""s product manufacturers is to make their products user-friendly to users who read and write a variety of different languages. This is true of computer hardware and software manufacturers.
As one means of rendering a computer usable by users who read and write different languages, different keyboards may be associated with a computer which are specially arranged or adapted to permit the user to type in a specific language. For example, one keyboard may have keys corresponding to the letters of the English alphabet. Another keyboard may have keys corresponding to Russian, French, German or other languages. Of course, the computer must be arranged so that when a user uses a particular keyboard, the symbols associated with the keys on the keyboard are correspondingly displayed on the computer.
Keyboards, however, are not generally arranged to send data to a computer which represents the particular symbol associated with a typed key. Instead, the keyboard sends a code to the computer indicating the particular key which was depressed. This information is generally in the form of a location code. The computer is provided with keyboard maps for a variety of keyboard layouts. The computer utilizes a map to translate the location code of a typed key into a symbol which corresponds to that location. As may be appreciated, if the computer is using a map which does not correspond to the correct keyboard, the symbols which the computer indicates are associated with the typed keys may be erroneous as compared to the symbols which are actually associated with the keys of a particular keyboard.
In a common arrangement, when a user connects a particular keyboard to a computer, the user may access software for selecting the particular xe2x80x9cmapxe2x80x9d corresponding to the keyboard which the user is connecting. For example, the operating system Windows 98(trademark) includes a feature by which a user may select one map for an English-language keyboard, another for a Russian-language keyboard, and yet others for languages such as Swedish and German.
This above-described arrangement requiring the user to configure the computer to ensure that the map the computer is using corresponds to the keyboard which the user is using has several disadvantages. One problem is that this arrangement requires the user to identify what particular keyboard is being used. A user might accidentally select a keyboard for one particular English dialect instead of another, and not recognizing this, not successfully reconfigure the computer to match.
Another problem is that the user may not be able to communicate with the computer in a manner which permits selection of a new configuration. For example, a user who reads and writes Russian may use a Russian language keyboard with a computer configured to display text and other information in Russian. A user who speaks and writes only English then wishes to use the same computer may connect an English language keyboard to the computer. When the user wishes to change the configuration of the computer to match the new keyboard, however, the menus and other displayed information may be presented in Russian, making it extremely difficult for the user to reconfigure the computer.
This arrangement also has the disadvantage that the user may need to use the newly connected keyboard to reconfigure the computer. Until the computer is configured with the correct map, however, the user""s keystrokes on the keyboard will not necessarily yield the desired results.
The invention is a method and apparatus for configuring a first device based on a code associated with a second device.
In accordance an embodiment of the invention, the method comprises the steps of providing a signal from the second device to the first device an input from the second device, providing to the first device a code associated with the second device in association with the input, determining if a configuration of the first device corresponds to a configuration corresponding to the provided code and, if not, reconfiguring the first device to a configuration associated with the provided code if the first device.
In one embodiment of the invention, the first device is a computer, the second device is a keyboard connected to the computer, the input comprises the typing of a key and the configuration step comprises selecting a keyboard mapping function corresponding to a keyboard code.
In one or more embodiments, computer hardware and/or software is arranged to perform the method of the invention. Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the drawings which follows, when considered with the attached figures.